


Exultation is the going

by Linguini



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Gen, Kyalin Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27536338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linguini/pseuds/Linguini
Summary: In any other circumstance, Kya wouldn’t have dreamed of stepping aboard the ship.  She was a child of the water, and knew a seaworthy craft when she saw one.  And this…  This boat wasn’t even in the same galaxy as seaworthy.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13
Collections: KyaLin Week 2020





	Exultation is the going

In any other circumstance, Kya wouldn’t have dreamed of stepping aboard the ship. She was a child of the water, and knew a seaworthy craft when she saw one. And this… This boat wasn’t even in the same _galaxy_ as seaworthy. She wasn’t even sure it was _bath_ worthy. But there was no other option. She needed off the island, and with the officials shutting down the port in less than an hour, she had no time to search for a better craft. The _Kyoshi’s Sorrow_ it was, then.

In spite of whatever misgivings she might have had privately, Kya stepped onto the deck with a cheerful smile and the promised jar of cloudfish jelly for the Captain. 

“I really appreciate this,” she said, bowing formally to the crew. It was always best to start off with a good first impression, she thought. 

The Captain grunted something incomprehensible and stalked off towards the bow, but the First Officer returned Kya’s bow and said, “Anything for the only daughter of the Avatar.”

A familiar mix of guilt and embarrassment twisted in her stomach, but she only gestured down below. “Racks down here?”

“I’ll take you.” A burly sailor with a crate full of food in his arms appeared. His torso was completely covered in green and gold tattoos, most of which Kya recognized as symbols of ports visited, as was tradition among the small independent island just east of the Fire Nation. But some held absolutely no meaning for her, and she made a mental note to ask at the next dinner--any sooner would be culturally inappropriate, and any later would be too late. 

Without waiting for her to answer, he turned and disappeared down the ladder. The steepness didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest, but Kya had to use both hands to climb down. She was a long way from the little skiff she’d used to sail between ports, but the swaying of the ocean was the same and gave her some comfort.

Tsuchi showed her to the berth. “That’s the visitor bunk,” he said and nodded to the hammock nearest the door, where the light and the noise at night were the worst, Kya suspected. A small satchel was already there, and Kya turned to look at him questioningly. His only answer was a shrug before he disappeared.

Kya set her own bag on the other end of the hammock. She’d shared before, It would just take a bit of working of schedules, but she could make it work. Kya took a moment to reach out to the water surrounding the boat, and when she was comfortable they were far enough away from port, she left for the upper deck.

The deck was a hive of activity, every sailor seemingly knowing what to do even without the shouted commands from the First Mate. The Captain stood at the wheel, their gaze fixed on the horizon. 

The salty breeze whispered past Kya’s face, and she closed her eyes again, feeling a soft quietude well up within her. She sighed happily and let the depth of the ocean center her.

The peace lasted for exactly three whole breaths before she was jostled by something warm and firm. Her eyes flew open just in time to catch a glimpse of the clouds as she was thrown backwards. With a whumph, she fell to the ground, an elbow catching her in the middle and driving the air out of her lungs. For a long moment, her ears rung as the world around her greyed dangerously. She let her eyes fall closed again and concentrated on dragging air into her lungs, grateful once again for the air meditation techniques her father had taught her. 

The weight on her stomach disappeared, but Kya lay there for a moment longer before pushing herself up. 

A voice floated down from above her suddenly, sounding just as breathless as she had been. It was a voice Kya knew, once she’d heard so many times in her dreams--low and smooth like honey over gravel.

“Kya?!”  
Kya opened her eyes and smiled.

“Lin Beifong, as I live and breathe.”

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from an Emily Dickinson poem of the same name
> 
> Exultation is the going  
> Of an inland soul to sea,  
> Past the houses—past the headlands—  
> Into deep Eternity—
> 
> Bred as we, among the mountains,  
> Can the sailor understand  
> The divine intoxication  
> Of the first league out from land?


End file.
